Chapter 4

EDEN

TEN DAYS AFTER DISCOVERY

All of them had been awake and active for close to thirty-six hours now, and it showed in the state of their uniforms and the drawn look of their faces. They had spent the last week repairing the damage to EDEN and trying to gather as much information as they could about what had happened to them and to earth. All of them had data pads strewn in front of them, coffee pots and mugs spread all over the large table. Portable computer modules had been brought into the room to run dozens of different scenarios, all of which gave them the same result. Hundreds of high resolution photos were scattered across the table as well, ranging from photos of every country, to deep penetrating photos of the earth itself. Data pads full of results from every major sensor and radar scan that they could run were stacked sometimes six high on the table. Everyone was still trying to come to grips with the reality that had blindsided them all. Family, friends, anyone they had ever gone to school with, dated, grew up with, they were all long dead; husbands, wives, parents, children, siblings, all of them gone.

The information had been made known to EDEN's crew of nearly eight thousand, and as they were still trying to recover from the effects of the comet's passing and the near disaster that had occurred when the still as yet unidentified Raptor slammed into the control module, many of them had not yet stopped to consider the implications of what they had been told.

Admiral Wallace had brought in every division head on EDEN, and against his better judgment, had allowed Senator Graham and Kevin to attend the meeting they were now all gathered together again for.

Bill banged his well smoked pipe against his coffee mug and silenced the conversations that were going on around the room. "Ok ... let's get started. Everyone grab a squat." He waited while the officers and civilian scientists all settled into the chairs around the table. More chairs had been brought in for those that had not been included in their first meeting, and Richard and Kevin now sat on either side of Anja, who did not appear happy about that arrangement in the least.

"I'll be honest," Wallace spoke. "I don't have a fucking clue where to begin, so let's start with our status here. Frank?"

Colonel Wilson leaned forward in his chair. "EDEN is fully secure." He spoke. "Repairs are continuing on damage to section thirty-four, but the integrity field has been repaired, and all the personnel with quarters in the three destroyed sections have been relocated. Thankfully those three sections were mainly used for low end experiments and were mostly empty. Sixty-two casualties, including eight critical burn victims, all of whom will recover fully thanks to Commander Peterson's quick action getting them to the burn unit."

Julie sat next to Dan on the other side of the table and she watched as Kevin reached out to take Anja's hand and squeeze it. She smiled to herself when Anja withdrew her hand quickly and gave him a very dirty look. They had not seen her very often in the last week, and when they did she was treating a patient in the MED Center. She was intentionally avoiding them they knew, and even though they understood why, both of them were disappointed.

"If I may take a moment and interrupt Colonel?" Senator Graham spoke now. "I want to be sure that it is noted in the official Command Logs that Commander Hunter disobeyed his orders to evacuate the damaged section of EDEN so that Admiral Wallace could shut down the reactor. In my opinion he put the entire station at risk with his actions."

Frank glared at Richard as he began typing into the data pad quickly. He finished within a minute and still looking at Richard he held it up. "Marty ... you and Danny want to sign this?" He spoke tossing the pad down to Martin.

Martin grinned and touched the pad with his thumb before handing it to Dan who did the same with a smile. He handed it back to Martin who then tossed it back to Frank.

Frank looked at Richard. "The log is duly noted Senator." He spoke before flipping the datapad onto a pile of others behind him. "I'll make sure it gets sent out with the rest of our four hundred and seventy-eight year old logs, just as soon as we find out where to send them."

William contained the laugh he wanted to let out before leaning forward in his chair. "I understand we are all under a lot of stress, but we need to work together. We've all seen Doctor Morrow's hard figures and facts. What we need to do now is decide what to do."

"We need to find out where the government is functioning from." Richard spoke again. "And then we need to contact them."

"Infra-red scans have picked up dozens of hot spots Admiral." The CDO spoke now. His forehead was bandaged, blood still on the collar of his uniform. "We can't get an exact count, but there are what appear to be population centers in quite a few cities across the country and the world. We're picking up high altitude contrails from aircraft, but not in any great numbers and the consensus of my team is that commercial air traffic is not what it once was. There does seem to be an extensive rail system, much more than what we ... what we remember, especially within the cities. Our high resolution photos have determined that these cities are advanced, as they appear similar to what we knew in many ways, but the population does not appear to be what it once was." He finished his statement.

"My initial estimates have been refined somewhat," Doctor Morrow spoke up. "But the original figures are accurate. Taking into account what our instruments here have been telling us of the damage for the last seven days, my staff and I concur that the world's population has been cut in half if not more. The infra-red scans confirm this as well."

"Good Marcus!" Richard Graham exclaimed.

"We've been trying to raise EDEN Ground Command for the last thirty-nine hours, ever since we got the main transmitter back online, but we're getting nothing." Frank spoke.

"Doctor Morrow, do you know how long would this atmospheric fire have lasted for?" Bill asked, turning to the nerdy doctor.

Morrow shrugged his slim shoulders. "It's impossible to tell, but given the depth of the burn scoring on the Earth's crust, we estimate at least two to five years." He replied. "Anything on the surface would not have lasted more than a few days. Only men and women in deep bunkers and caves would have had a chance."

"So it's not unreasonable to assume that any surviving government officials would have deduced that EDEN was also destroyed and they would not have tried to contact us?" Bill said.

Morrow nodded. "It's very likely Admiral. There is no way they could have contacted us regardless. The fire and heat would have disrupted any type of communications they may have attempted, and given the fact that EDEN was a newly commissioned base when the comet came, it stands to reason that any survivors who knew of our existence would come to the conclusion that the comet destroyed EDEN as well."

"The communications we have been able to pick up suggest we need to proceed with extreme caution." Julie spoke now leaning forward. "The Raptor crash took out our most powerful receiver, but all of our secondary receivers are getting the same thing. There appears to be a conflict occurring in the Midwest part of the United States, as we are picking up a lot of traffic between military units. Nothing we have ever heard of, but they are using military call signs and speak with military precision. We are also picking up some low band transmissions that indicate unfriendly activity spread across a wide area. We've picked up the terms slavery and elves numerous times."

"Elves," Bill asked shocked. "You mean like in children's books?"

Julie shrugged. "Nothing concrete Admiral, but those terms were used in the same sentences quite a few times. Maybe it's a code of some sort."

"I don't like the fact that slavery is being thrown around like it is." Bill spoke.

Martin nodded. "That fact alone screams that we should be careful." He spoke. "If we are over four hundred and fifty years into the future, we have no idea what type of climate is persistent on Earth right now. We can't just dial up who we think is in charge and say Hi we're from EDEN, and we're back!"

"Why not," Richard spoke. "I am a Senator of the United States, and I'm quite sure..."

"Excuse me Senator, but did you miss the part where we came four hundred and seventy-eight years into the future?" Martin asked. "We don't even know if the United States still exists anymore."

"Nonsense," Richard answered. "All we need to do is contact whoever is in charge and let them know who we are. I can do the rest."

"What are you suggesting Marty?" Admiral Wallace asked.

"Let me take a team down sir." Martin told him. "We've determined through high resolution photos that EDEN Ground Command is still there, and still intact. I'll take a team there, and we can try and determine the current scope of what we are dealing with. At the very least we can get the needed equipment to repair our long range receiver. One Raptor and nine of my team would be sufficient. I can be back in three days time, four at the most."

"How would you do it?" William asked.

"Hard drop right into the base perimeter; we travel light, get what information we can and have Tina and Ben come in to extract us." Martin replied.

Admiral Wallace nodded. "That's what we'll do." He said.

"Admiral I protest!" Richard began. "I don't believe this is the best course of action."

Wallace looked at him. "You're not being asked for your opinion Senator." He turned back to Martin. "How soon before you can depart?"

"I'd like to go in fresh sir. We can be loaded and flying in three hours and sleep on the flight in."

"Then let's make it happen."

EDEN

WEST LANDING PAD

Martin looked at Anja as she walked up the ramp of the Raptor carrying two duffels of medical equipment. He stepped in front of her.

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

Anja met his eyes, finding that very hard to do given the emotions she had running through her. "I'm coming with you." She answered. "You need medical support, and since my primary duties have been placed on the back burner it seems, I'm available. I'm Hard Drop qualified and I graduated from BUD/S. I'm a fully qualified SEAL operator and you know that Martin."

"You haven't been on a Team mission since you graduated Anja." Martin told her. "You aren't as sharp as the rest of us. And you aren't a genome."

"No I'm not a genome, but I've stayed current in all my Quals." She answered quickly. "I asked the Admiral for permission, but he said you had to approve it. I ... I don't want to stay here Martin." Her voice was almost pleading him.

Martin sensed there was something about her desire to accompany them, and he also sensed she was being very honest with him. He smiled and held out his hand for her duffels. "Welcome aboard." He spoke. "You might want to say goodbye to your fan club though." He spoke motioning back into the bay.

Anja turned to see Kevin running up to the Raptor. She sighed heavily as he nearly skidded to a halt in front of her.

"What do you want Kevin?" Anja asked.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"What does it look like?" Anja said. "I'm leaving."

"My father wanted to speak with you. He's waiting in the lounge."

"Good for him." Anja said. "I have things to do."

Kevin stepped closer to her and took her arm tightly. "He did not give you permission to go with these ... these people."

Anja pulled her arm away quickly. "Don't touch me!" She hissed at him. "I'm a Naval Officer and I have a job to do!"

"You work for my father!" Kevin snapped right back.

"I work for Admiral Wallace now." Anja spoke. "And he gave me permission to be on this mission."

"You requested to go on this crazy trip?" Kevin asked aghast.

Anja turned her head slowly and looked into the rear of the Raptor. Her eyes quickly found where Julie and Danny were stowing their gear, and both of them chose that moment to turn and make eye contact with her. She glanced at Martin then, who was staring at her with those beautiful dark eyes. She held his gaze for several moments before turning back to Kevin. "This is where I am needed." She told him.

"Listen to me Anja, my father will be very upset about this! He'll..."

Martin stepped up to them. "Are you coming with us pretty boy?" Martin asked.

Kevin looked at him arrogantly. "Certainly not, and we are having a discussion here, do you mind?"

Martin grinned. "Yes I do as a matter of fact! Unless you plan on coming with us, I need your ass off my ship!" Martin activated the ramp controls and pulled Anja back into the interior of the Raptor gently by the back of her shirt as the ramp started to come up.

Anja looked at him. "Thank you." She spoke softly.

Martin nodded. "No problem. Why don't you get... ?" His eyes widened and Anja turned to see what he was looking at and they saw Kevin leap up onto the ramp and nearly have his head taken off as it closed behind him.

"Kevin what are you doing?" Anja barked at him.

"I'm coming with you! What does it look like?" Kevin replied looking back as he heard the ramp lock into place.

"You can't be serious!" Anja exclaimed. She turned to Martin and saw the pissed off look on his face. "We can't take him Martin."

"Ben has already started pre-flight." Martin replied looking at her. "And I want to get airborne. Danny would you find twinkle toes here a seat, and make sure he doesn't puke on my clean deck! We'll figure out what to do with him later."

Dan came up to them with a small smile and took Kevin by the arm. "Right this way twinkle toes." He spoke pulling him along after a quick look at Anja.

Anja turned to Martin, a look of disgust on her face. "I'm not going to baby sit him Martin." She said. "He stays on the ship and out of my way."

Martin looked at her intently. "You ... you seem different Anja." He spoke softly, stepping closer to her.

Anja held her breath for a long moment, not looking at him. His musky mint smell filled her nostrils. "We're all different now." She spoke quickly knowing Martin could probably still smell Danny and Julie all over her.

Martin smiled in a knowing way, and Anja felt herself blush slightly. "I don't plan on having you baby sit him. You're part of my team now." He told her. "We'll figure out what to do with him on the way."

Anja's face became serious. "Martin ... I'm sorry ... I'm sorry about Yuri."

Martin's face changed quickly, becoming unreadable. He nodded slowly. "Yeah ... well losing women seems to be one of my more prominent traits." He forced a small smile. "Grab a seat."

Anja turned and moved into the interior of the Raptor.

ONE HOUR TO INSERTION

The jarring of the Raptor woke Anja from her exhausted sleep, her green eyes going wide as she sprang to her feet. She saw the members of Martin's team already up and moving about, many of them were checking weapons and other equipment. She got to her feet unsure of what to do and saw Danny move around the center crate, adorned in full body armor and combat gear. His black nomex uniform had cargo pockets on the legs and additional padding and armor over every portion of his body except for his joints. His combat vest was loaded with several grenades and a large automatic in a shoulder holster. He carried the wicked looking HK74 assault rifle with what she recognized as a grenade launcher under the silenced barrel. She rubbed her eyes as he stopped in front of her.

"Good morning sleepy head." He said with a smile, flashing his perfect white teeth.

Anja looked up into the dark eyes and face of the man who had made her feel things she never thought possible only a few short hours ago.

"Danny..." Anja spoke softly. "I ... I don't..."

Dan shook his head gently. "Jules explained everything to me." He told her, his voice just above a whisper so only she could hear him. "I swear to you Anja, I had no idea what kind of effect I would have on you, but I damn sure don't regret a single moment of anything that happened between us."

"Danny ... you..."

"Hear me out." Dan said softly. "You may or may not believe me, but I'm going to say it anyway just so you know. I want it to happen again, and not for the reasons you may think. I'm a genome yes, but I am also a man. And I am not so stupid as to not know what I want and don't want, regardless of how I act. I have Jules ... and she has me ... but we both want you. And that's a fact. It's ... it's not easy for me to explain it, Jules is better at words then I'll ever be, but you ... you are incredibly sexy and I'd be a fool if I said I didn't want it to happen again. The decision is yours, whenever you make it, and as much as I would like you to say it's what you want as well, now is not the time." He held up the bundle for her to see. "The Skipper says you are qualified for Hard Drops, so here is your gear. Your bags have already been stowed in Julie's pod since you're riding down with her." He pulled the small hypo from his vest and handed it to her. "This is your receiver and transmitter. They are normal coms, but Jules added our personal channel to your implant chip. It's eleven. This is from her." He handed her the hypo and small pouch.

"Thank you." Anja said taking the gear, never taking her eyes off him.

Dan pulled something else from the pack he carried. "This is from me." He told her, holding out the small black automatic, and the cut down version of the silenced HK74 he carried. "I took a normal K12 and HK74 and reworked them a little. The weight and balance are the same, but they have more knock down than the standard K12 and HK that you are used too. I loaded three extra clips for the K12 for you and sized your thigh holster for the best fit."

Anja took the weapon while looking at him. "You sized it for me?" She asked.

Dan grinned in an almost embarrassed sort of way. "Anja I memorized every millimeter of your body in those few hours. I could pick your scent out of a crowd of thousands if I needed too." He told her, causing Anja to blush as well, but in the dim light of the Raptor no one else noticed.

"Thank you Danny."

Dan nodded. "Get suited up, we'll be entering the atmosphere in about twenty minutes." He told her before turning and heading forward.

"Altitude at twenty-seven thousand feet and we are in the pipeline." Ben spoke from the left seat of the Raptor.

"Stealth systems are activated and operating at peak output." Tina said from the right seat. "We are a ghost."

Ben turned back to where Martin sat behind them. "Pretty standard Marty and we'll be over the target in sixteen minutes. TOT puts you on the ground at 2045 local."

"Nothing out of the ordinary Ben," Martin asked.

Ben shook his head. "Aside from a slightly higher temperature when we entered the atmosphere, it was a standard flight."

"I'm picking up a lot of com traffic." Tina spoke adjusting her instruments. "I am marking what appears to be search radars scattered all over, mostly X-band stuff. Nothing directed at us, but from the patterns they are using I'd say they are looking for something."

"Is there anything coming out of the target area?" Martin asked.

"Looks like two search radars well east of the base. They appear to be stationary though. I'm picking up intermittent infra red signals within four kilometers of the base, could be people or it could be animals, there's no way for me to tell. I'll try zooming the High Res camera in on one of the clusters Marty. I'll patch the feed through to your station."

Martin turned to his screen as the picture came up. It appeared to be nearing dusk, and the images were dim but very clear. He could see a small group of armed men and women running easily through the thinning trees as they neared the edge of the forest on the perimeter of the base.

"They look like soldiers." He spoke softly. "Soldiers that are running from something and that ain't good. Tina can you expand the view to ten kilometers."

"Stand by." Tina echoed, adjusting her instruments. "I'm picking up another larger cluster six kilometers behind the first. It looks like ... holy shit! Is that a tank?"

Martin's eyes had also grown wider as he viewed the metal monster moving methodically through the thin forest, knocking down trees and uprooting bushes. The tracked vehicle looked larger than a normal tank and sported a long tank gun that currently was pointed straight ahead. "That's not like any tank I have ever seen." Martin spoke, his eyes also taking in the soldiers that were marching on all sides of the tank. He estimated at least a company sized force. "Whoever they are, it seems they are chasing the first group we saw. And both of them are heading right for the base."

"You want to abort Marty?" Ben asked. "We're still thirteen minutes out."

"No." Martin answered. "We need to find out what is going on and..."

"Fuck!" Tina exclaimed. "Something just hit that first group! What the hell is that?"

Martin's eyes were glued to the screen as they watched what appeared to be an armored creature similar to a bear tearing through the first group of soldiers. They were trying to track it and fire their weapons, but it didn't appear to have any effect on the creature. Already four of their number were on the ground and looked to either be dead or have serious injuries.

"Marty that second group has juiced it!" Tina called.

Martin thought he saw a flash of long black hair under the trees and then the creature struck and the hair disappeared.

"Well I'll be damned!" Ben exclaimed from his seat.

Martin turned from his screen. "What?"

"Just for shits and giggles I tried activating the base hanger controls by remote." Ben spoke, his hand resting on the controls of the Raptor. "I never thought it would actually work, but take a look."

Martin's eyes went to the small screen between Ben and Tina and he saw the ground beginning to open slowly. Dust was rising into the air as several hundred years of dirt and leaves and branches collapsed into the underground structure, but the hanger doors opened fully.

"Power readings from the base?" Martin asked.

Tina shook her head. "Minimal." She answered. "And I'm not detecting any infra red signatures near the landing pad either. But we don't know about the rest of the base. Our instruments can't penetrate the outer shell armor."

Ben looked at Martin. "It's your call Marty." He said.

"Christ whatever that thing is, it's tearing those troops apart!" Tina spoke from her seat.

Martin looked at her monitor. "Jesus!" Martin muttered.

"Is that thing a bear?" Tina asked.

"That ain't no bear that I've ever seen." Ben spoke from his seat. "Marty we..."

"Can we hit it from here with the Sabot Cannon?" Martin asked.

Ben looked at him. "Does a bear shit in the woods?" He asked.

"Do it!" Martin spoke. "Then take us in. I never did like Hard Drops but be ready for an emergency ascent."

Ben nodded. "I like a man who knows what he wants." He said with a smile.

Tina looked at him. "So do I ... so where do I find one?" She said with a grin.

Martin and Ben both smiled at her comment. "Warm up the cannons." Ben spoke. "Marty put one of your people in the belly turret just in case."

Martin nodded. "I got you covered."

TARIFA'S COMMAND PARTY

Tarifa's head was ringing from the glancing blow of the Grizz beast. The monster's huge paw had struck her at the full extension of a swing from one of its massive clawed arms and tossed her physically twenty meters away. The Grizz beast was a mutated creature designed to look like a bear and to hunt prey for the Alliance. The normal ones easily stood nine feet tall and almost two thousand pounds, and that was without the additional armor that the Alliance covered their hides in. Unprotected Grizz beasts would go down after being shot fifty or sixty times, but this one was in the employ of the Alliance and was heavily armored. Her weapon and the weapons of her warriors fired only small caseless 6.7mm rounds, and they did not even dent the armor of the monster. It was tearing through her party, ripping and slashing her warriors to death. Blood stained the ground around the fighting; seven of her party of nineteen already littered the forest floor, their blood seeping into the ground from horrible wounds that had disemboweled them.

Tarifa felt the terrible pain in her head and reached up to brush her armored hand across the side of her face. The back of her gauntlet came away coated in bright red blood, and suddenly Tarifa knew she was in trouble. Her vision started to blur somewhat as she slumped back to the ground on her butt, barely catching herself in time. The snarl very close to her caused her to snap her head around, her eyes going wide in terror.

The Grizz beast was only three meters away from her, rising onto its powerful hind legs and lifting its lethal clawed arm to strike her down and feast on her flesh. Tarifa could hear the screams of her warriors as they rushed towards her, trying to get the monster's attention to no avail. All of them knew they could not reach their Queen before the beast struck.

Tarifa flinched when she heard the wet plopping sound and her eyes went even wider when the Grizz beast rose to its full height and howled in agony. She continued to watch as even over the sounds of the monster's roars she head another similar plopping sound and this time she was showered with the monster's thick blood as a huge hole the size of both her fists blew out the front of its armored belly. Her eyes glanced up quickly only to witness the beast's head explode in a shower of bone and blood, spraying her and the surrounding area with more wetness.

The Grizz beast collapsed to the forest floor, its large head blown completely off, leaving only its fang filled lower jaw hanging lifeless in the shredded mess. The monster landed only a few feet from her and Tarifa scrambled back just as her remaining warriors ran up to her.

"My Queen," The man spoke, lowering his assault rifle and reaching for Tarifa, his hands pulling her away from the monster's inert body and helping her to her feet.

The High Elf warriors crowded around the mangled beast; their eyes wide in complete astonishment.

"Something ... something shot it!" Tarifa gasped. "It was about to ... it was ready to rip me to pieces and something shot it." She looked at the man with the smoking rifle. "You shot it?"

"I shot it many times my Queen." He answered her, his face showing his own terror. "One of my bullets must have penetrated its armor."

The High Elves suddenly became much more alert as their keen eyes began sweeping the darkening forest around them. Others moved to check on their fallen comrades, though it was far too late to save many of them.

"My Queen, you are injured." The man spoke, reaching up to the side of her head.

Tarifa steadied herself with the man's arm, as her eyes darted to where her fallen warriors lay. She moved to the first body where one of her soldiers grasped the hand of the female Elf. She was horribly wounded, her side practically ripped open, but she was alive.

"Marcus still pursues us." Tarifa spoke now, her head clearing. "He will not follow us in the darkness however, and we must use this time to get further away. Give her a sedative to silence her and then pick her up."

"Majesty she will only slow us down." The man spoke from her side. "We can do nothing for her now, or any of the others. She is beyond our means to help."

Tarifa whirled on the young warrior. "I will not leave her or the others for Marcus to find alive. He will heal them only to rape and torture them to death, if not worse. Now pick her up and let us go! We are not far from the sacred site and we will be safe there. Even Marcus will not enter the sacred site. We must hurry."

EDEN GROUND COMMAND

EARTH

The screaming of the Raptor's engines was almost deafening within the small confines of the landing bay, centuries old dirt and dust and the recently disturbed debris from the surface blowing crazily in the man made tornado.

Ben's hands gently caressed the controls of the Raptor as he brought the ship in slower than he usually would so that Martin could lower the ramp and members of his team could sweep the interior of the dark landing pad. The Raptor's lights illuminated much of the landing pad, leaving only one area shrouded in shadows, and it was this area that the team member in the chain gun belly turret trained his cannons, his fingers ready to mash down on the triggers.

"Four meters," Tina called out, her eyes glued to her instruments.

"Close the cover!" Ben called as he eased back on the throttles, the Raptor dropping even further until its landing struts touched the metal surface of the pad.

"Cover coming closed." Tina spoke, her hand flipping another switch, which controlled the overhead door. They could hear the groaning of the steel as it moved for only the second time in nearly four hundred years. Tina looked at Ben. "That doesn't sound good."